winter harvest

My husband Peter (a.k.a. Batman or PPDO (Pizza Pizza Daddy O)), has an elaborate system that he sets up in the fall.  He pots up flower bulbs, nestles them in plastic bins and puts them on hold in our chilly garage for a few months.  When the winter days become longer and longer, he brings the pots up a few at a time and sets them on sunny windowsills. Check out the flower, waiting in its translucent green bud.  Magic.   These are paperwhite narcissus flowers- he also pots hyacinths, amaryllis and mini daffodils.   He is a spring person, and this fall ritual builds a bridge for him,  across the cold days of winter.  We also bring forsythia branches in from the hedge in early spring, put them in a vase and watch them bloom in our dining room.  Smith and Hawken publish a lovely book called  forcing, etc for information on the how to's.